Shadows & Cherry Blossoms
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: a collection of ShikaSaku oneshots rated for content of some of the oneshots
1. Watching

Shadows & Cherry Blossoms

DG32173

Sarah: here's my first ever fanfic that only has one-shots as chapters. I hope you enjoy. I'll be adding onto it whenever I get an idea for a one-shot; there's only one condition: they have to be Shika/Saku pairings. It doesn't matter if its romance, humor, angst, drama, etc; so long as it's Shika/Saku. I do hope you enjoy.

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ I don't even own one of the manga books; I read the manga on the internet. So, obviously, I don't own the Naruto series.

* * *

**Watching**

Ten-year-old Nara Shikamaru is currently laying out in a field near the academy, watching the clouds go by. Suddenly, he senses someone watching him. He sits up and looks around, but finds no one nearby. The nearest people are his fellow academy students, but they are about ten meters away and not even looking his way. He frowns and lays back down. But he can't shake the feeling that someone's watching him. And he _hates_ being watched by some random person. But, for the past several weeks, he has sensed someone watching him at the academy

Behind a tree nearby

Ten-year-old Haruno Sakura holds her breath, praying that he hadn't seen her. She peeks around the tree to see he's laying back down, and lets out a soft sigh of relief. Sure, everyone thinks she's madly in love with Uchiha Sasuke. But she only pretends that to be cool; she doesn't want people to start teasing her again. Really, she thinks the Uchiha is a jerk and always wonders why anyone likes him.

She is actually interested in another boy in the class, a lazy boy who never does his work. She knows he's smart, _very_ smart. On the few times that they had to team up to do worksheets Iruka-sensei gives them, she had always been paired with _him:_ Nara Shikamaru. And those worksheets are always a _lot_ harder than the ones they're given to do by themselves. She often has trouble with them, but he can easily answer them. And they always got top marks on those worksheets.

When she had asked him why, if he's so smart, are his grades just slightly higher than Naruto, he said that it's "too troublesome" to do the work and that he prefers sleeping instead. She found his saying kinda cute. But he thinks everything except sleeping and watching clouds is "too troublesome". Sometimes, she wonders if talking to her is "too troublesome." But she never dares to ask, afraid of his answer.

Suddenly, he sits up again and looks around. She quickly ducks behind the tree and holds her breath. She doesn't want him to catch her watching him. She doesn't want him to find out that she actually likes _him,_ not "Sasuke-kun". And she refuses to tell anyone that, even her parents. Before she can check to see if he's laying down again, the bell signaling the end of lunch break rings and she darts up to join the other kids heading into the academy to go back to class.

* * *

Sarah: very cute, right? Oh, and don't expect before or after notes on all the chapters. Many of them will be just the disclaimer and the story. Bye! 


	2. Wanting

Shadows & Cherry Blossoms

DG32173

_**DISCLAIMER:**_ I don't own the Naruto anime

_**Chapter Rating:**_ T _mild language_

* * *

**Wanting**

------------The problem------------

He never wanted anything as much as he wants her to be his. But she seems to only see him as a friend, a brother. Not a lover, not a boyfriend. The longing for her kisses and touches are enough to drive even a saint crazy. And he is certainly _not_ a saint. So he watches enviously as she openly flirts with other men, as she tilts her head just right to expose her long, pale neck to them. He listens in jealousy as rumors reach his ears of her latest lover. He is always found with a smirk after he hears of her leaving said lover. He wants to rip the next lover apart limb by limb when the rumors reach him.

She sees his want and returns it just as strongly. But he's her best friend's ex-boyfriend (and ex-teammate, but that's beside the point). And you don't go out with your best friend's ex; it's an unwritten rule in the dating game. But every time she goes to bed with a lover, she keeps replacing their face for his, their rushed whispers for his lazy drawl, their rapid touches for his slow, sexy strokes. She had heard all about his loving style from her best friend. She breaks up with each lover after less than a week together; none of them reach her standards.

She saw how much her best friend and ex wanted each other, and is aggravated that neither of them act on it. Screw the damn rules about dating your best friend's ex! She broke it off cause she _knew_ that it's _her_ he's supposed to be with! And now her best friend won't take what was given to her practically on a golden platter. She and her new boyfriend keep dropping hints to them, but both pretend not to hear the hints. It's enough to drive her crazy! She's practically ready to 'accidentally' push their lips together to make them see that they obviously want each other! Wait a second… that gives her an idea! She pulls out her cell phone and calls up her current boyfriend. After explaining her idea, he agrees, saying that if anything were to get them together, that should.

------------The solution------------

"Hey! Forehead girl!" Ino yells, pounding on Sakura's apartment door. "Open the damn door! I know your in there! Don't make me kick the door down!"

She hears a heavy sigh on the other side of the door, then she hears about a dozen locks being unlocked, and _finally_ the door opens. "What do ya want, Ino-pig?" Sakura grumbles.

"Well hello to you too!" Ino says sarcastically. "Naruto and I got a party going on tonight at his place and we decided you should come!"

"And if I don't want to?" Sakura asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Too bad! You're coming, even if I have to drag you to the party myself with you in your nightgown!" Ino says.

"That's not much of a choice your giving me," Sakura remarks, scowling at her. "Fine, I'll come. When does it start?"

"At eight! I'll come by to help you with your outfit around six-thirty!" Ino says cheerily before skipping away.

Sakura scowls after the blonde. "And I just wanted to relax tonight, maybe read a good book or two," she mutters angrily before closing her door. It's almost five now, and she has to pick out a few different sexy outfits to try on and get Ino's opinion.

With Naruto

"OI! SHIKAMARU! GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" Naruto shouts at the door leading to Shikamaru's apartment; he'd been knocking on it for half an hour now, and he _knows_ Shikamaru's there as he can sense the shadow-user's chakra. "DON'T MAKE ME BUST THE DOOR DOWN!"

"Fine, fine," he hears the lazy shinobi's voice mutter on the other side. "How troublesome." A few seconds later, the door opens to show an obviously aggravated Anbu dressed only in a pair of comfortable pants. "What?" he snaps.

Naruto ignores the rough greeting. "Ino and I are holding a party tonight at my place at eight," he states.

"Not interested," Shikamaru growls, closing the door.

Before it's completely closed, Naruto employs a downright dirty tactic. "Sakura-chan's coming," he says.

The door pauses, then opens again. "She is?" Shikamaru asks suspiciously. Naruto and Ino are the only people in all of Konoha who know of his feelings for the pink-haired maiden. And they stay silent on threat of tortuous death. To anger Shikamaru is to sign your death certificate; it takes a lot for the shadow-user to become angry, but when he is angry, you'll want to stay out of his way.

"Yeah, Ino told her about it and she said she'll come," Naruto informs him, grinning. He doesn't say that Ino gave the roseate no choice in the matter, that the blonde would drag her to the party in her nightgown if she has too. What Shikamaru doesn't know won't cause harm to Naruto and Ino.

Shikamaru thinks it over for several minutes. "Fine," he agrees after eight minutes of silent contemplation. "If she's not there, I'll kill you," he warns the blonde. Naruto nods meekly. Shikamaru closes the door after Naruto streaks off to notify the other guests of the party. The blonde had finally sold his old, beat-up apartment and moved into a rather large, two-story house. Both him and Ino live there; the two blondes are engaged and are to be wed in four or five months. Naruto and Ino are constantly hosting parties in their house, having the best parties in Konoha _and_ Suna!

Seven-thirty, Sakura's apartment

"Are you _sure_ this is the best one?" Sakura asks uncertainly, looking down at the skimpy outfit she's wearing. She's wearing a bright red, tight leather mini-skirt that's top follows the curve of her hipbone, and it's so short that if she were toe bend over the wrong way, she'd show her panties to everyone. And the top has even less clothe. It's a dark pink tube top that goes around her chest, showing an ample amount of cleavage without overdoing it, and ends about two inches below her chest. To top off her out0fit is a knee-length black leather jacket. For footwear, she's wearing bright red, two-inch heels. "I look like a slut."

Ino grins. "Oh, and like you're too innocent to wear this? You and Kami-sama only _know_ how many guys you've slept with!" she teases.

"I'll send that comment right back at ya!" Sakura growls.

"Hey, at least I don't complain about the skimpy outfits I wear!"

"Meh! You're the one who gave me this outfit for my birthday!"

"And you can now wear my present for ya and impress the guys," Ino concludes the argument. "C'mon, I still gotta do your make-up and style your hair," the blonde says, dragging the roseate into the bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later, they prepare to go. Sakura's long pink hair is tied up in an intricate bun with a braid hanging from underneath, and her make-up is a hint of blush, a bit of eye shadow, and strawberry lip gloss.

Seven-thirty, Shikamaru's apartment

"I changed my mind, I'm _not_ going," Shikamaru says, looking at the full-length mirror in disgust. He's wearing black slacks, a deep crimson western shirt with a deep V-neck, and fancy black shoes. But nothing Naruto could do or say would make Shikamaru let his hair down out of it's usual ponytail.

Naruto sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. That's the tenth time the lazy nin said that this evening. "You don't wanna see Sakura-chan's outfit? I heard from Ino that she's going to help her pick out a really pretty outfit. I know she'd like to see you at the party," the blonde coaxes.

Score; Shikamaru pauses in his rant of the reasons he's not going. Just say what Sakura _might_ like, and Shikamaru would do anything just shy of murder to get or do it for her. Shikamaru scowls at Naruto, knowing the blonde knows just a mention of Sakura would make him change his mind. "Fine," he grumbles.

8:19 that evening

Shikamaru scans the dimly lit party room for any signs of Sakura. If Naruto had lied about Sakura coming, the blonde won't have to worry about his upcoming wedding: he'd be dead long before. Suddenly, the doors open slightly to show Ino dragging a certain pink-haired woman in. Sakura seems to be trying to hang on to the doorframe so she won't have to come inside.

Shikamaru frowns and makes his way closer, close enough to hear what the women are saying without them seeing him. "No, no, no, NO!" Sakura growls, feeling her fingers slipping. "I look ridiculous! I will _not_ go in there looking like this!"

Shikamaru becomes rather confused. All that he can see of Sakura is her back. The black leather coat and red heels don't look all that bad. "Oh c'mon, Sakura! We've been over this already; you've worn worse during missions!" Ino complains, pulling on the other woman's waist.

"Yeah, that's the key word, _missions._ Meaning I had _no choice_! I do _not_ want to go in there looking like _this_ when I don't have to!"

"Ugh, quit being so stubborn! It's a nice outfit! You should see half the girls here! They're wearing less than you are! Now … let … GO!" Ino says, straining to pull Sakura the last few inches into the room. Seconds later, the roseate loses her grip and is pulled in by the relieved blonde.

Shikamaru, curious as to what is so bad about Sakura's outfit, moves closer as she turns and glares at Ino. He stops in mid-step, his breath hitched in his throat. Sakura looks absolutely _gorgeous!_ True, she's showing much more skin than usual, but that just adds on to her beauty.

Shikamaru's eyes roam from her pink hair, mussed up a little by the fight; down her beautiful face; over her chest where her shirt shows a moderate amount of cleavage ('Damn, she has nice breasts'); over her flat, toned stomach; down her _tight_ mini-skirt, which doesn't leave much to the imagination; down her long, pale, slender legs; ending at her pale feet in her red two-inch heels. His eyes take in every muscle and tendon hiding under flawless ivory skin. All in all, Sakura is one sexy, not to mention _strong_, woman.

Before Sakura could say anything, Ino spots Shikamaru watching her. She smirks and maneuvers Sakura towards Shikamaru while the pink-haired woman rants about how she's so embarrassed to be seen in an outfit a _slut_ would wear and that she's gonna get back at Ino big time. Shikamaru is too busy watching Sakura to notice that they're moving closer. Soon, Sakura is in front of him, her back to him. "Hey Shikamaru!" Ino greets.

Sakura gasps and whirls to stare at Shikamaru, a light blush decorating her cheeks and nose. "Hi, Shikamaru-kun," she says softly. He opens his mouth to respond when Ino 'accidentally' bumps Sakura forward, making her lips land on Shikamaru's. Before she even has a chance pull away in embarrassment, he pulls her closer to him and deepens the kiss, eliciting a moan of pleasure from the pink-haired beauty. Her arms trail up to wrap around his neck and pull him deeper into the kiss. Still kissing, they make their way to a dark corner to get out of the partiers way.

Twenty minutes later

Naruto and Ino high-five each other as Shikamaru picks up Sakura and they 'poof' away to a place with a little more privacy. "Yeah! It worked!" Naruto cheers.

"Told ya it would!" Ino responds happily. "Mission Shika/Saku matchmaker, success!"

"About time they got together," Tenten drops in on the conversation. "So you two pretty much used the party as a way to get them together?"

"Yep," Ino says, grinning. "They make an awesome couple! Ooh! Their kids will be super geniuses!" Ino says, giggling. Her friends laugh with her; the kids of Nara Shikamaru and Haruno Sakura _will_ be super geniuses, as their parents are both geniuses.

_**END**_


	3. Kiss

Shadows & Cherry Blossoms

DG32173

_DISCLAIMER:_ I'm an American, I'm a girl, and I'm only 19. Thus, I don't own the Naruto anime.

_CHAPTER RATING:_ K+

* * *

**Kiss**

Seven-year-old Nara Shikamaru watches as several girls make fun of and bully another, smaller girl with pink hair and green eyes. His eyes narrow; the way he was taught, you should never bully another person. Bullying is _not_ a ninja trait; those who bully others _never_ become ninja, and those girls should know that since they're all attending a ninja academy.

When the other girls leave, he walks over to the small girl, who's curled up in a ball and crying. "Hey," he says. "You shouldn't let what they say upset you."

"Hn?" the girl voices, looking up at him with emerald eyes from behind long pink bangs.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "How troublesome," he mutters. "You shouldn't let what they say upset you so much. They're just bakas who take pleasure in making other people upset. If you don't let them get you upset, then they'll leave you alone," he explains

She uncurls from her previous position and sits up to look at him. "T-thank you," she says softly. "I'm Sakura."

"I'm Shikamaru," he says, holding out his hand to help her up. She smiles shyly as she takes his hand and he helps her to her feet. "Wanna go watch clouds?"

"Okay," Sakura says, smiling brightly at him, and he felt something in his chest twist tightly, almost painfully so. He realizes that he'd do just about anything to get her to smile at him like that again.

Several hours later

"Thank you Shikamaru-kun," Sakura says shyly. "I had a great time today."

"Don't mention it," Shikamaru says.

Sakura hesitates before standing on her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow, Shikamaru-kun," she giggles as he blushes. She turns and walks out of the field that they were cloud watching in. before she's out of hearing distance, she turns and waves at him. "Bye Shikamaru-kun." Then she turns and skips off towards home.

Shikamaru's hand slowly trails up to touch the spot where she kissed him. "Bye…," he whispers.

_**END**_


End file.
